The present invention relates to an arrangement having an apparatus and a display device that has an electronic paper and is secured to the apparatus. Moreover, the present invention relates to a method for displaying an item of information relating to an apparatus using a display device of this kind.
In conformance with predetermined directives or standards, machines must have a complete and unambiguous identification label. For this reason, they bear a so-called nameplate (also called a rating plate), the “ID” of an industrial product. This informs the buyer, operator, user, etc. of the manufacturer, year of construction, certifications and conformity, and provides important technical data such as the performance data and safety notices. Specifically in the case of safety notices, the machines or apparatuses have to be equipped with appropriate country-specific warning notices.
Regulations on nameplates or rating plates and warning and safety notices can be found, among other places, in the following standards and directives:    for machines manufactured in Europe generally, the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC;    for electrical machines (in particular motors), DIN EN 60034-1 and NEMA MG1;    for adjustable speed drives (including frequency converters), DIN EN 61.800-2.
It should be noted here that motors do not now fall under the Machinery Directive (“partly completed machinery”). The Machinery Directive should be applied to frequency converters if they have functions relevant to safety (functional safety), though this is almost always standard nowadays.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional nameplate for an electric motor. It shows technical information on the electric motor in German and English. This information cannot be read by people who do not have a command of German and English, and for this reason nameplates typically have to be produced specifically for each country.
According to the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (which applies in the territory of Europe), the following requirements apply to nameplates: “All machinery must be marked visibly, legibly and indelibly with the following minimum particulars:    the business name and full address of the manufacturer and, where applicable, his authorized representative,    designation of the machinery,    the CE Marking (see Annex III),    designation of series or model,    serial number, if any,    the year of construction, that is the year in which the manufacturing process is completed.
It is prohibited to pre-date or post-date the machinery when affixing the CE marking.”
“Information and warnings on the machinery should preferably be provided in the form of readily understandable symbols or pictograms. Any written or verbal information and warnings must be expressed in the official Community language or languages, which may be determined in accordance with the Treaty by the Member State in which the machinery is placed on the market and/or put into service and may be accompanied, on request, by versions in any other official Community language or languages understood by the operators.”
The following requirements of nameplates apply under DIN EN 60034-1:
“All electrical machinery must be fitted with a rating plate (rating plates). The plates must be made of durable material and be fastened securely. The rating plate (rating plates) must be fastened preferably to the housing of the machinery and mounted such that it (they) is (are) readily legible in the position of use as determined by the construction and installation. If the electrical machinery is enclosed or incorporated into the device such that its rating plate is not readily legible, on request the manufacturer must supply a second plate, which is to be fastened to the device.”
Requirements of warning notices for adjustable speed drives under DIN EN 61800-2:
“The manufacturer must supply and attach safety and warning notices as required by the regulations and standards at the site of use of the equipment (if known) and by IEC 60204-1. They must be expressed in the appropriate language(s) of the site of use. If the site of use of the user is not known, the warning notices are supplied at the same time and attached in accordance with the regulations and standards of the country of origin and with IEC 60204-1. They must be expressed in the language(s) of the country of origin.”
Requirements of warning notices and equipment identifiers under DIN EN 60204-1:
“Warning notices, nameplates, identification labels and designation plates must be of sufficient durability to withstand the respective ambient conditions. Equipment (e.g. switchgear assemblies) must be identified legibly and indelibly such that the identification label is readily visible after installation.”
Requirements under DIN EN 61800-5-1:
“If no international symbol is available, a designation must    be written in a suitable language or a language that is associated with a particular technical field;    be conspicuous, legible and indelible;    be clear and concise.”
The regulations quoted above give rise to the following problems, with the following approaches to solutions:    a) The variation in the plates to be produced continues to grow, because of country-specific requirements (multilingualism). The plates are thus produced with the corresponding variations. Blanks for plates are kept in stock.    b) The number of items of information to be displayed continues to grow (warnings, multiple languages). However, the space available is typically limited, so additional items of information cannot continue to be displayed in the conventional and required size. Thus, the plates are becoming larger and larger. Typically, a compromise is found between typeface size, plaintext and the use of pictograms and abbreviations.    c) If the intended destination is not yet known at the time of production, additional plates for all the official languages of the possible intended destination have to be provided.
Accordingly, additional plates and accompanying notes in the official languages of the possible intended destination are provided with the product. For example, as things stand a frequency converter from the Applicant needs to be provided with warnings in 37 different languages.    d) If the plate is not legible when the apparatus is in its position of use, an identical additional plate has to be provided with the product. A provided plate of this kind is then glued on or mounted by the commissioning engineer.    e) When older machinery is upgraded, it may be necessary to produce a new nameplate. This has to be provided with the “upgrade kit” at the time of delivery. Thus, in practice it must be ensured at the time of upgrade that the old plate is replaced by the new one.    f) In their present form, plates can only be read electronically (e.g. by barcode readers) if there is a direct line of sight. As digitalization progresses, the possibility of reading without a direct line of sight becomes more and more important (for example at customs or incoming or outgoing goods inspection without opening the packaging; at inaccessible locations in a plant, or during operation, without the need to open the door of a switch cabinet). No direct solutions are known for this. Thus, for customs or incoming or outgoing goods inspection, a plate is usually additionally glued to the packaging.
So-called “electronic paper” (e-paper or ePaper for short) is known as a display technology. Using electronic paper of this kind, the attempt is made to mimic the appearance of ink on paper. E-paper displays reflect the light like ordinary paper, that is to say they are passive (non-illuminated) displays. Screens of this kind are also referred to by the term “reflective displays”. With some display technologies, texts or images are displayed continuously without the need for a voltage to maintain this. However, the display can be changed at a later point. Electronic paper from some manufacturers is flexible, like ordinary paper (source: https://de.wikipedia.orq/wiki/Elektronisches_Papier).
E-paper displays operate by the principle that they orient electrically charged, pigmented particles in a microcapsule by the application of an electrical field. For the construction of e-paper modules, the developer connects an FPL foil (front plane laminate, which contains the microcapsules) to an active matrix TFT backplane, and seals them together with a protective film. Using the TFT backplane, the developer divides up the FPL to the predetermined resolution and gives it the desired image display using the integrated graphic controller. The panels are controlled by way of the integrated chip-on-glass IC and the timing control software. The software is either located on the main processor or on a separate T-CON board or chip.
The optics and legibility are not dependent on the angle of view, are able to display excellent levels of grayscale, and provide a contrast comparable with print on white paper. Because e-paper is a reflective technology, legibility in sunlight is excellent.
Nowadays, e-papers can already be made with a color in addition to black and white, such as red or other colors, and are about to enter serial production.
The displayed content can be output electronically over a radio connection, such as WLAN, ZigBee, Bluetooth or NFC (near field communication). Factory settings may likewise be made by radio communications. In contrast to many display technologies, e-paper can display QR and 3D barcodes and is readable by IR or laser readers. They are thus perfect for logistics applications or active price labels in shops (keyword: ESL, electronic shelf label).
In a further application for e-paper displays, at London Heathrow airport Densitron has developed an electronic baggage label that is intended to replace the traditional BA barcode pendant label made of paper. The e-paper displays only need power when the display is updated, so they can be re-used almost any number of times as desired. The labels communicate with the cellular telephone of the person traveling by way of NFC.
The printed specification DE 20 0243 000 952 U1 discloses a remote-controllable display technology on a truck, formed by a combination of display modules based on electronic paper and a GPS unit, with the possibility of data exchange by radio communications technology. Warnings and advertising can be displayed on the rear of a truck in a manner dependent on its location.
Further, the printed specification EP 2 837 978 A1 discloses an electronic control device for controlling a plant. The plant may have sensors and a motor, switching devices and similar. Moreover, it has electronic paper for displaying information.